Hollow
Prologue The tired beaten feet of the innocent rushed to safety as an army of nightmares pursued them, their memory was foggy and they didn’t even know how they got here wherever here is. But none of that mattered; all that mattered was the present. One of them, a Toa of fire shouted out orders as his team ducked into a cave, but their attackers still pursued them inside. The cave system was elaborate, it was dark and quiet, the perfect place to hide. But there was no time to hide only to run but none knew where they were going. The Toa cursed to himself for not owning a kanohi Huna then he summoned a wall of fire to block his foes. The move was effective but it only slowed the army down. The Toa told his team to stop and despite how crazy the order was they did it anyway. As they did this the Toa blasted the ceiling with flames eventually causing it to cave in and block the path of their foes. He sighed in relief then turned to his team. It consisted of three matoran: a female Ga-Matoran, a male Ta-Matoran, and an Onu-Matoran male. They gasped for breath and sat down on the cold rocky ground. “You’re resting, good. You’ll need all of that energy later.” The Toa had said these words in a wheezy voice for even he was tired. He turned his head to look at the matoran as the Ta-matoran of the group spoke. “I say we rest here after all we’ve spent our day running from whatever it is those things are.” The Toa shook his head “No, this rubble won’t last long.” As if on cue the wall of earth shook as the warriors on the other side rammed it, the Toa frowned as he heard this “We have to keep moving” He uttered almost fearfully. The team moved slowly on ward through the tunnel, dragging their feet lazily as they went. The Toa lead the way analyzing the environment with his black Akaku Nuva. He knew that there was a dead end up ahead. He thought to himself “I’ll have to find a way around that.” As he did this he also took a quick glance at his fellow travelers. They were tired and they wouldn’t last much longer and neither would the Toa. “Look at us” he thought “We’re worn out and tired which makes us too easy of prey, I’ll have to find a place for us to sleep or else we’ll never make any progress.” The Toa once again ordered his team to stop. They had reached the dead end and at the site of it the Ga-Matoran groaned. “Great, more inconveniences.” She said in an annoyed tone. The Onu-Matoran known as Onatuu looked at the Toa as he sent jets of fire into a wall. “What are you doing?” He asked. But the Toa ignored him and stepped back then kicked the melted wall and watched as it crumbled down and showed a new entry point. “Follow me” The Toa said in an assertive voice. More walking had made the team lose their ability to walk effectively and now they looked just as bad as the things that chased them. They could barely keep their eyes open. And often tripped over rocks then struggling to pick themselves up sometimes they even fell asleep when they fell only to be awaken by comrades and dragged back up. The Toa himself was beginning to falter and just stopped in place and the others stopped as well without even being ordered to. He lazily created a ring of fire of fire around them in a slow motion. When he was done he muttered softly for the team to sleep and in just seconds the team collapsed as the shadows of the cave surrounded them, diminishing what little light the ring of fire offered. Within minutes there was no light just shadow. Tanikii, Toa of fire had pried his eyes open only to see pure darkness but he heard much more, deep whimpers, whispers, and growling. He carefully reached his hand to his mask’s scope and silently activated its night vision. What he saw angered him. The things known as undead of which had chased him and his matoran allies was now walking around in the shadows, searching for their prey. Tanikii would not allow it any longer, he slowly began heating up the cold cave and soon the undead began to notice the heat. They were being baked by it but soon the Ga-Matoran Gala and Onatuu woke up in a drowsy manner and much to Tanikii’s dismay Gala began to complain about the heat which blew their cover. The Toa of fire acted quickly and shot up off the ground and soon used his fire power to illuminate the room and expose his team. He then activated his wrist blades and charged at a party of undead, he knocked down one of the undead’s weapons and flipped over it then cut another in half while blasting another with fire. He then kicked the weaponless Undead in the chest and created a flame vortex that reduced the rest to ashes. He finally finished the last one with a fast stab in the head then looked at his team. They were baffled by the Toa’s skills. “Get up, we’ve got to get moving” He ordered. Never had Tanikii felt this tired before in his life. Hours and hours of fighting undead with only a few minutes of sleep had done its work on him, he could barely think clearly. Soon the matoran had become his eyes and audio receptors though they were just as tired. Another hour had past and through the eyes of Pyrack the Ta-Matoran every step was a mile to him and every minute seemed like an hour, and every hour seemed like day. This journey was relentless; he didn’t feel his feet as they scrapped against the ground trying lift themselves to perform a proper step. The world was getting blacker, and blacker till Pyrack finally gave in and collapsed. His allies tried to wake him up but to no avail, he was beyond sleep. Tanikii cussed as the sounds of swirling swords and growls of anger came from behind. Another party of undead. Tanikii tried to leap over the matoran but did not have the energy, he flew into them instead. He cursed and pulled himself up only to see the armada of demons rushing towards them, he rammed into them in a sloppy motion only for them to surround him and swallow him in a crowd of swords, maces, knives, and staffs. He was no longer in the Matoran’s vision. To them he was dead. They then closed their eyes and clutched hands as some undead approached them, they were ready for death. But suddenly the crowd exploded in a mix of bodies and flame. When the dust settled the only one left to stand was Tanikii, Toa of fire. He looked at the Matoran, they had all fallen asleep, he then looked down at his arm and he could see a black goop spreading over his body. He recognized this as the virus that spawned the undead, the very thing that would turn him into one of them. He was soon overwhelmed in sorrow, he knew that soon he would no longer live with a free will, that he would soon be nothing but a husk of what he once was. Then back at the Matoran. He would die that much he knew but he would not let them die. They would live on to be great heroes and he would live on through them. And so with great strength he walked toward the Matoran and pick them up one by one then carried them through the rest of the tunnel. His mind dissolved through every step but he kept moving, he was determined and nothing could stop him. He would save these Matoran and do one last good thing before being forced into the evil influence of the virus. Then something spectacular happened, his life was flashing before him. Every step was another memory. He could see all of his crazy misadventures as a matoran with his friends , he heard the crowd scream his name as he won his first kolhie game, he could feel the guiding hands of his Turaga who acted so much like a mentor to him, and he could smell the odor of the rabid ash bear that attacked his home as he rushed into it with a heart of courage. Then he saw himself carrying these Matoran as the warm light of the sun shooed the shadows of his body and touch him in a warm glow. Before him now was a lush plentiful forest. He loved it and hated the fact that he wouldn’t ever be able to explore it. Then he finally dumped the Matoran on the and quickly grabbed three stoned then filled them with magnificent power and set them by each sleeping Matoran. He got up then formed a sad smile, after that he created another circle of fire around the matoran then plucked a piece of his armor off then set it next to Pyrack’s head. He then ran off into the wilderness when the virus finally consumed him and led him toward his new leader. The Matoran woke up fully rested and feeling stronger than ever. But their happiness was cut short when they noticed Tanikii’s absence. They then noticed the forest around them far different from the cold and dark ceiling of the cave. Pyrack felt something on his head then grabbed it and examined it. He recognized it as part of Tanikii’s armor. He got up slowly with a sad expression on his face. Gala and Onatuu noticed and came to the same conclusion: Tanikii, Toa of fire was now dead. Pyrack then put the armor on his back, it looked awkward at first but then he picked up a stone that glowed with energy and Gala and Onatuu did the same. Upon contact the stones covered them in energy and when it faded three strong Toa took the place of the Matoran. Each was armed with a weapon and they all pulled their own out. They then walked off into the forest with faces of sorrow. They walked on and through each step they took Tanikii’s legacy would grow. Story Chapter 1 The figure known as Pyrack was hurled through the air, he hit the ground hard and only after a few moments did he raise his head. His vision was blurred and his mind scattered, the force of the impact had dazed him and he was still trying to assess what just occurred. "What happened?" he asked wearily, the answer came to him in the form of a Toa of earth his obvious attacker. Pyrack's foe was adorned in rusty black armor that was covered in a foul smelling black slime. The Toa looked as though he was dead which it was, the rotting flesh and dead heart light gave that away. Whatever this monstrosity was it was dead-set on ending Pyrack, the beast raised it's rusted claws and was just about to end the conflict when a red blur hit him and sent him sprawling to the ground. Pyrack jumped back on his feet and analyzed the undead, he was hit by another undead warrior. Pyrack looked to his right and saw one of his few allies, a Toa of earth named Onatuu who stood there proudly with his sword in hand. Onatuu had thrown one undead to knock out the one attacking Pyrack and for that the Toa of fire nodded his head in gratitude. Gala Toa of water was outnumbered and out gunned, while her comrades had quickly disabled their opponents she was still stuck fighting hers. Ofcourse her allies only had to face two undead she had to face three. One she already had trapped in her weapon's chain, the undead was tangled and was fighting to be free, after kicking one undead in the jaw she threw the tangled undead into another attacker and watched in pleasure as they fell to the ground. Gala started to wrap her chain around hydro hook; her favorite weapon. As she did so an undead snuck up to her and was ready to end her only to be blasted by jets of flame. Gala turned around and found Pyrack. "You missed one" Pyrack said proudly. Onatuu sighed in relief "Finally, it's over!" Pyrack then turned to adress Onatuu"Yeah but for how long?" "What do you mean?" Gala asked in confusion. Pyrack quickly answered Gala's question. "Just think about it , we've been fighting these creatures all day and we just came out of that cave." All three Toa remembered their experience in the cave where Tanikii, Toa of fire died. For a full moment all were silent then Gala broke the silence. "Maybe their guarding something." both Onatuu and Pyrack looked at Gala after she said this. "Why are you both starring at me? Do I have dirt on my armor?" "No though you may have a point. Back on my home island armies used to come to protect our treasure no matter how small. Maybe these undead guard something too?" Onatuu said this like the scholar he once was, his mind began to wonder on about the secrets the undead could be hiding, but before he zoned out Pyrack caught his and Gala's attention. "Team we have to leave now, there's no telling what these walking corpses guard but what ever it is it doesn't concern us, the farther we get from it the safer we'll be. Let's move!" Onatuu was disappointed by Pyrack's order and tried to object " We can't just leave! We have to find what their guarding, maybe their treasure is a weapon, or some devise that could get us home! We have to find what their guarding, we have to!" But Onatuu's words were not heard, Gala and Pyrack already started walking off. Onatuu followed, he was disappointed and was forced to let his curiosity die. Chapter 2 The group walked across the vast forest of the island eventually finding them selves walking up a steep hill. The team had not spoken a word since they left the battle ground, there was indeed tension and Gala noticed it. Pyrack was determined to keep moving, he insisted that team travel quietly as to not attract the attention of the undead. Onatuu was silent because he was stubborn, and Gala was bored because of the silence, she decided to end the silence. " So how are you guys?" Silence. "You know what would be funny? If we ran into a Toa of Ice, air, and stone then we could be be our own little cliche Toa team. Wouldn't that be funny? I think it would be hilarious!" Her comrades remained silent "Ugh! You're both hopeless. " Suddenly there was a loud tink, Pyrack's foot had hit something metallic. The huna wearing toa of fire looked down and found a ravaged mask, he picked it up then looked forward, his comrades followed his gaze and were appalled at what they saw. Before them was a camp of corpses, bodies lay scattered everywhere, some bodies had thick swords and daggers protruding from their chests, others were missing limbs. Onatuu was the first to rush in and much to Gala's disgust he began to sift through the bodies. Pyrack approached him "Are you stealing from dead Matoran?" Onatuu turned to address the huna wearing Toa. "No, I'm searching for evidence and from what I've collected so far I can tell you that this was a scouting party, I think we all know what ended these poor Matoran." Onatuu glared at the ravaged Kanohi in Pyrack's hand. "May I see that mask?" "Why?" "Because the mask tells a story and with the aid of my Rau we can listen to that story." Pyrack handed Onatuu the mask and watched in wonder as Onatuu's mask glowed, Onatuu was absorbing information every second, his theory proved to be correct, there was a message embedded in the mask's scars and now Onatuu was reading that message. He stood up confidently and said "Follow me" within minutes the team was traveling with Onatuu leading the way. 'Chapter 3 ' Onatuu treded carefully through the weeds and walked with caution, his comrades did the same though didn't know why. Gala was tempted to ask but the eeriness of the situation had already silenced her, something was about to happen she could feel it. Suddenly Onatuu stopped pointed forwards "Draw your weapons friends, a battle awaits us" Onatuu unclipped his sword and charged forwards, Gala followed with her Hydro hook in hand, and Pyrack had his flame claws ready. An Onu-Matoran lay perched on a fallen tree shooting the advancing undead with his shotgun while a Ga-Matoran sliced her up foes with swords. It was these two Matoran against atleas ten undead. The waves were advancing and slowly over powering the Matoran. Just when all hope seemed lost a tidal wave washed away a good number of undead and a strange Rau wearing Toa of earth was firing lasers from a cannon built into his sword, the remainder of undead dropped like flies as a Huna wearing Toa of fire revealed himself. In the end three Toa stood before the Matoran. The Ga-matoran approached the Toa and bowed in gratitude. "My thanks is towards you noble Toa, thanks to you we live another day." "As Toa it is our job to protect." Pyrack said proudly. "Why are you traveling in these dangerous times?" "We had no choice, we were once part of a strong camp until those abominations came, they destroyed everything. We are the only survivors." "I think I might know of the camp you speak of, me and my team passed it up on the way here, I'm very sorry that you lost so many comrades." "It's alright because soon we'll be safe." What do you mean safe? These monsters still stalk this forest." "True but if you'd be willing to protect us then we might make it." "I am still confused, where are you trying to go?" The Ga-Matoran looked at Pyrack as if he turned into a Ruki Fish. "Excuse my looks brave Toa, I just expected you to know the answer, we're going to Balfe-Nui." Pyrack looked at his fellow Toa, they were just as confused as him. "I'm sorry but we're not as aquatinted with this island as you are Matoran, would you mind explaining just what this Balfe-Nui is?" Onatuu asked with his kindest tone. The Matoran looked directly at the Toa in front of her and spoke. "Balfe-Nui is the main city of this island, it is ruled by a noble queen who is bound to her throne due to great inguries she received long ago, the city's a bit hectic right now but no undead have reached it which is why it's the safest place to go." Suddenly a voice broke up the conversation and the group turned to see that the Onu-Matoran was talking. "I just received a distress signal from another Matoran party, their getting slaughtered!" The Ga-Matoran turned to address her fellow Matoran "Where are they?" "On the other side of the island" Gala clutched her head i aggravation "If we turn back now we may never get to this Balfe-Nui!" "But we can't just let these Matoran die! They said they can last for a few days but that's it!" Shouted the Onu-Matoran. Pyrack raised his hand and the group fell silent. "We are indeed close to salvation, but what good are we if we walt in there knowing that we ignored the chance to save lives. When my team first came here we were Matoran, we were surrounded by undead until we were saved by a Toa of Fire who sacrificed his life to save ours. I will not abandon a call for help, it's not ethical and it's not what that brave Toa would have done., so here's the plan: Gala, you and I are going to go and save those Matoran, Onatuu go with these two and ensure that they make it to Blafe-Nui and while in the city try to get help and some transportation for Gala, myself, and the rescued Matoran. Is that understood?" All nodded there heads in agreement then they went their separate ways. Gala and Pyrack went in search of the Matoran using a map given to them and Onatuu and the two matron traveled to Balfe-Nui. New questions began to form in Onatuu's mind as he walked towards the city, his curiosity had been revived and a feeling of adventure began to take effect. "Balfe-Nui here I come." Onatuu muttered in excitement. Little did Onatuu know that he and his Matoran companions had not entered the salvation they had expected, but a city of chaos where the streets scream of sorrow and poverty. And where the past of 6 lost heroes would be revealed...To be continued in Elegy. Characters *Tanikii *Pyrack *Gala *Onatuu *Several Undead *An Onu-Matoran *A Ga-Matoran Trivia *This story is an entry to Vorred's writing contest *This was originally set to be a comic *When I first built Pyrack, Gala, and Onatuu in Toa form but later revamped them in inika form